Fall kicks off the New Orleans fundraising season. From now until March, it seems like nearly every night without a New Orleans Saints game, Carnival parade or a national holiday will host a gala, ball or auction. At each one, including Boudin and Beer on Friday, Nov. 2, you’ll see chefs lined up behind tables draped in white.

Some chefs glad-hand with the poise of a politician. Others shuffle nervously, like kids shoved into the spotlight by overeager stage moms. But all of them, despite being saddled with equipment not much more sophisticated than a Cub Scout’s mess kit, turn out the kind of food that makes other cities envy our eats.

Boudin and Beer, now in its second year, is emerging as one of the grandest of the galas, at least for the kind of person who goes to these things and hovers all night around the food. And unlike at most fundraisers, you’ll fit in better wearing blue jeans than a black tie.

Emeril Lagasse put the fundraiser together, and the evening benefits the foundation that bears his name. Since it was created 10 years ago, the Emeril Lagasse Foundation has given more than $5 million to support children’s education through programs like Cafe Reconcile, the Edible Schoolyard NOLA and the culinary program at NOCCA.

The co-chairs are Donald Link and celebrity chef Mario Batali. The trio invited 50 of their fellow chefs, including local luminaries like Leah Chase, Frank Brigtsen and Alon Shaya of Domenica along with Southern stars like Kelly English of Restaurant Iris in Memphis, Chris Hastings of the Hot & Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, and Ashley Christensen of Poole’s Downtown Diner in Raleigh, N.C.

“That’s a pretty good list of chefs there,” said Donald Link, in his typical understated style. Link, as co-chair, will show up that night with 300 pounds of boudin and country smoked sausage.

Second annual Boudin and Beer

What: Fifty chefs from New Orleans and beyond pay homage to one of Louisiana’s favorite sausages.

Why: Benefits the Emeril Lagasse Foundation, which over the last decade has given more than $4 million to children’s charities in the region.

The fundraiser fills the Foundry events space and spills onto Warehouse District streets outside. Along with boudin-centric fare, there will be plenty of beer from Abita, bourbon from Buffalo Trace and even free cigars from Nat Sherman. Musicians scheduled to perform include Feufollet, Drake White and the Red Stick Ramblers. And if you’re feeling serious, the Southern Foodways Alliance has put together an exhibit on the glories of boudin.

Boudin and Beer stands out because it’s one of the few events that draws chefs from across the region and the country. It also gathers together local chefs who don’t often work the same fundraisers.

“There are different cliques in the restaurant community,” said Adolfo García, a partner in local restaurants that include La Boca, Ancora and High Hat Cafe. “The chef-owned restaurants, we all know each other. You have another clique like the Brennan’s group. And then the hotel guys. Emeril includes everybody. He’s got a lot of pull.”

Like most high-profile chefs and restauranteurs, García gets asked to work a charity fundraiser nearly once a week. He only accepts about five requests a year and mainly for food-related charities.

Chefs typically donate their time and the food to fundraisers. Boudin and Beer does offer restaurants $500 to help with the cost of making 1,000 to 1,500 servings, but most chefs forgo that money. García, who’ll be working with chef Jeremy Wolgamott of the High Hat Cafe, guessed that they’ll spend a few thousand dollars on their boudin cakes with pickled shrimp.

“Honestly, I never even look at the cost,” he said. “It’s more a time thing. But it’s almost like voting. It’s a civic responsibility, because we’re so connected to our guests.”

Chefs also benefit from these charity events. Participating has become a necessary ingredient of a modern culinary career.

“It’s a win-win for everyone,” said Kristin Butterworth, the recently arrived executive chef at the Windsor Court hotel. “They’re for a good cause, and you get to represent the restaurant that you’re working for.” At Boudin and Beer, she’ll be representing the Windsor Court’s Grill Room with boudin dumplings, which she describes as a cross between gnocchi and old-fashioned Southern dumplings.

For Butterworth, who moved here a few months ago from Pennsylvania, Boudin and Beer is a way to introduce herself to future customers and get to know fellow chefs. The influx of out-of-town chefs makes it a particularly attractive opportunity. The chefs mingle before and after the event, but they often forge even closer bonds when visitors borrow a local restaurant’s kitchen.

Chefs at smaller restaurants, like Michael Stoltzfus of Coquette, particularly appreciate the chance to meet their colleagues from other towns. They often don’t have the resources to take part in national food festivals.

“When I worked for (John) Besh it was easy,” Stoltzfus said, “because he was always sending us out and you made a lot of good connections.”

The chefs want to impress everyone who tastes their food. But veterans of these kinds of events, where chefs cook with the tools they carry in, have learned that they impress more when they curb their ambitions. Keep it simple, said the chefs, with no more than two main elements. Not only does that ensure that the first plate tastes as good as the 1,500th, but chefs who aren’t franticly juggling pans can take time to chat with their fans.

Link believes that Boudin and Beer will become a permanent fixture of the New Orleans social calendar. He and Lagasse see it as another way to add life to the Warehouse District, where they both run restaurants.

“I love the festival,” Link said. “So many fundraisers can be really stiff. This one is not like that. It’s casual. It’s kind of rowdy, but not too rowdy.”